Democrat Lloyd Bentsen Jr. represented Texas in the U.S. Senate from 1971 to 1993.

Born in Mission in 1921, Bentsen was Hidalgo County Judge from 1946 to 1948. He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1948, where he served until 1955. Under President Bill Clinton, Bentsen served as secretary of the U.S. Treasury.

Thanks to a lack of strong state ties to Republican Donald Trump’s campaign and a weak bench on the Democratic side, it’s unlikely Texas talent will flood the executive branch in 2017 — no matter if Trump or Hillary Clinton wins the White House in November. Thanks to term limits for committee chairs, Texas powerin Congresswill soon diminish as well.

There are lily pads and launch pads in Texas government, and the Railroad Commission is a launch pad. Being a railroad commissioner is less an end than a means — a way to propel yourself into a better, higher-profile and more powerful job. Which is why a serious reform effort is afoot.

"I always wanted to run for office," Bill Hobby writes. "And I grew up in a family that had been part of state government for a couple of generations." An excerpt from the forthcomingHow Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics.